China, EU urge Pakistan, India to exercise restraint

by Agencies , (Last Updated February 26, 2019)

BEIJING: China and other world powers on Tuesday urged India and Pakistan to “exercise restraint” after the Pakistani military’s media wing announced that Indian warplanes violated the Line of Control (LoC) in the wee hours of the day and released their payload in Muzaffarabad sector of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

“We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint and adopt actions that will help stabilise the situation in the region and improve mutual relations,” China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to meet his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in the Chinese city of Wuzhen on Wednesday for a previously planned meeting.

The European Union also called on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise “maximum restraint”.

“We remain in contact with both countries and what we believe is essential is that all exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation of tensions,” EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters.

In a statement shared by the Australian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Australian government urged India and Pakistan to “exercise restraint, avoid any action which would endanger peace and security in the region and engage in dialogue to ensure that these issues are resolved peacefully”.

Australia called on Pakistan to take action against the alleged presence of terrorist groups in the country.